The Lil Durk murder-for-hire trial is currently facing a lot of debates between both sides of the court. These relate to Magistrate Judge Patricia Donahue's potential removal and the possibility of an anonymous jury in the case. Prosecutors want to protect the identity and safety of witnesses and jurors, whereas the defense believes this would downplay "transparency and fairness." Sadly for defense attorneys, that argument just became a little bit harder to make.
According to an exclusive AllHipHop report from Grouchy Greg Watkins, an unknown individual captured a picture of the Chicago rapper's codefendants in court and posted them online. This was reportedly during a Tuesday (November 18) pretrial hearing in which prosecutors pushed for an anonymous jury. They brought up alleged death threats, massive coverage of this case, and Durk's alleged violent reputation as reasons why.
Afterwards, the photo of codefendants OTF Boogie and OTF Dede spread online. As such, prosecutors reportedly pointed to this illegal courtroom photography as another reason to justify an anonymous jury. If they don't secure it, they argue that witnesses and jurors' identities could be the subject of intimidation, safety threats, or outside influence if more folks break the law in this manner.
"This blatant violation of the federal rules, and the following widespread dissemination of the photograph, underscores that an anonymous jury is only one of the security measures this Court should employ to prevent improper attempts to intimidate and/or influence jurors, ensure a fair trial for all parties, and protect the judicial process," prosecutors reportedly wrote in a court filing.
Why Did Lil Durk Go To Jail?
Lil Durk's legal team disagrees, although it's unclear if they have responded to this recent photographic leak at press time. Nevertheless, they previously argued against more secrecy in this case. His lawyers labeled this as a prejudicial move against OTF in an attempt to paint them as a criminal enterprise rather than a record label.
For those unaware, Lil Durk's arrest and trial stems from allegations that he hired folks to murder Quando Rondo in 2022. A shooting in Los Angeles that year injured Rondo and took the life of his cousin Lul Pab. The trial will begin next January, if everything goes according to schedule, and we will see how the court rules regarding this recent photo leak.
